Unfavorable Circumstances
by HPontopoftheworld
Summary: Juushiro Ukitake was prepared in full for his captain's exam. But fate did not smile on him, as he awoke ill and exhausted on the very day it was to be held. But as they say, the show must go on. Hints of ShunUki pairing/friendship, could go either way.


The odds were not in his favor, oh no, not at all. Everything was prepared. What he would say, what he would do, and most importantly, his bankai. Months of work had been put into this, he was a promising Soul Reaper, taught by none other than Head Captain Yamamoto himself. So how could everything have gone so wrong?

Fever-bright brown eyes opened to the world on the morning of the test. Juushiro Ukitake blinked blearily and rubbed his temples before coughing weakly.

_This doesn't bode well... _he thought to himself, _Not today, not now. _

He pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked out the window. Clear and calm. At least it was nice out. Rain would be just one more thing to irritate his lungs. Disentangling himself from the blankets in order to get ready for the important day ahead, Juushiro knew the best he could do would be to go ahead and try not to let on that anything was wrong. Even his folded uniform, laid out with his zanpakuto on a chair seemed too far away to reach.

_I won't let that stop me... _he thought as he pulled on his shihakushou, _this is much too important. _Juushiro braced himself as he looked in the mirror. _This might not make for the best impression._he thought, and sighed. His face was drawn and pale, cheekbones rather more prominent, and eyes shadowed and glassy. It was a look of weakness and fragility, not the look of a captain. But no matter. Juushiro was used to putting in extra effort to show that he was just as capable as everyone else. He didn't want any special attention, and most often pretended that there was nothing the matter at all.

Blood misted lightly over his hand as he coughed, and hit the loose strands of hair. "Damn," the rare swear crossed his lips, "This won't do." Juushiro wiped the blood away with a slightly shaking hand, and looked back into the mirror.

_My hair..._ he mused, _Now I have to do something about that too... _It was barely long enough to pull back, but it would work. Juushiro sighed again. _No one ask. Please, just let this work. _

Well, this was the best it would get. He looked presentable at least. And just in time, too. Shunsui would be there in a few minutes, for moral support on his way to where Head Captain Yamamoto and Unohana-sempai would be waiting to test him.

Juushiro left his room, pausing only briefly to cough, and began to contemplate the idea of breakfast. For once, he decided, he was distinctly not hungry. The combination of nerves and illness were causing his stomach to churn uncomfortably, and so settled on just some tea instead, hoping it might also help to stave off any coughing fits that might interrupt his test.

_Thok, thok, thok._

"Oy, Shiro! You ready?"

_Oh... Shunsui must be here. Am I running that late? _Juushiro glanced out the window again. Yes. For once he wasn't perfectly on time. More knocking.

"Juushiro?" Shunsui sounded more worried, "You remember what day it is, right?"

"Yeah..." he croaked out in response, "I'm coming... just a minute." Grimacing at how bad he sounded, Juushiro drank down the rest of his tea in a fruitless attempt to soothe his throat, and grabbed his sandals from by the door. He coughed quietly once, braced himself, and stepped outside, into the sunlight that caused his head to throb painfully. But he ignored it anyway, and smiled and waved to his lazing friend.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Juushiro apologized, pleased to hear that his voice had returned to a semblance of normal, "It took me awhile to get ready."

"Geez, I thought you were never going to get out here. I was ready to force my way in and drag you out." The words were serious, but there was a wide smile on Shunsui's face, so Juushiro knew Shunsui hadn't noticed anything yet.

"I just wanted to be sure I looked-" At this point, Juushiro's body betrayed him, and he started coughing violently. Shunsui jumped up and caught him under the arms before he fell to his knees.

"Juushiro," gasped Shunsui incredulously, "You look like hell... You can't go like this."

"I-I don't have a choice, Sui," rasped Juushiro, "I have to make a good impression. There's-" he paused to cough again, "no use for a weak captain." The ill Soul Reaper pushed against his friend's arms (which were still holding him upright) and looked at him pleadingly.

"Please Shunsui, I have to do this today." As Shunsui released his hold, but stayed ready to catch him, Juushiro struggled to his feet. Shunsui stood up simultaneously and watched him, waiting for him to stumble or cough. Any excuse to keep him here, resting. At the same time though, he knew this was pointless. This was Juushiro's battle, and he'd be damned before he treated him as incapable. "Suit yourself," Shunsui sighed resignedly, "Just so you know, I'll be outside the room if you need me."

Juushiro smiled gratefully, "Thanks Sui. To be honest," he confessed, "I'm a bit nervous and this stroke of misfortune isn't helping, so I appreciate that."

"No problem. Anytime. But you do realize you're going to be late, right?"

Juushiro's eyes widened in horror, and he grabbed Shunsui by the arm. "We need to go. Now!"

"Don't get all worked up over it," Shunsui rolled his eyes, "I was going to say we could flash step there, but if you want to walk..."

Juushiro froze in his steps. _Flash step. Why didn't I think of that? I need to keep a level head. _He turned back towards Shunsui, smiling sheepishly. "Of course. That makes much more sense."

"I could flash step both of us if you felt-"

"No." The word was kind, but there was an edge to it that made Shunsui cringe. Juushiro would do it himself. Of course he would. "I'll be fine. That will give me enough time before the test to rest a minute. Maybe I won't look quite as bad then."

Shunsui surveyed him carefully for a minute. He really did look sick. The few extra minutes would probably do him some good, but was the effort of flash step worth it? Shunsui didn't even have time to answer his own question when he was startled out of his reverie by the sound of a loud, not-so-false cough.

"Let's go, Shunsui. Really, I'm not going to collapse, it isn't that far."

Shunsui shook his head like a dog and walked to his friend's side. "I believe you, and yeah, we should probably go."

Within seconds, the world blurred, and they were there. Juushiro leaned on Shunsui, and tried desperately to catch his breath. _This shouldn't have even tired me, _he thought, _Not only am I sick... but its a bad spell too... _

"Take a minute Shiro, you have the time."

Juushiro smiled wanly up at Shunsui, "It'll pass in a minute-" he paused to cough again, "And then I'll go in."

The lazy man patted his shoulder encouragingly, and beamed with confidence in his friend, "Good luck, I know you'll make it."

"Thanks again Sui. I'll be out in a couple hours." _I hope... _Juushiro stood up straighter and neatened his uniform. As he turned and walked in, Shunsui saw his hair, and began to crack up. "Hey!" he yelled to Juushiro's retreating back, "Nice hairstyle."

Juushiro looked over his shoulder to see Shunsui grinning foolishly and waving his own (slightly longer) ponytail in the air, rolled his eyes, and bolstered slightly by the antics, went inside.

* * *

"Juushiro Ukitake!" boomed Head Commander Yamamoto, "You are here because we believe you capable of becoming a captain. Would you like to say anything before you begin?" Unohana and Yamamoto looked at him with a sense of mild curiosity.

Resisting the urge to recoil at the sound of his teacher's voice, resounding in his aching head, Juushiro simply shook his head no, and then bowed, to signal that he was ready to begin the test.

"Fine then. Begin with your spoken portion, then kidou. I believe you know what to do after that." Genryuusai sensei's expression was one of rapture (as much as his face could show it). He obviously was very anxious to see his best student's bankai at all costs.

Juushiro swallowed against the nervous butterflies (and the cough) that were now trying to work their way up his throat. He was prepared. This would be easy. He locked eyes with the two captains seated in front of him and began to speak.

Well rehearsed words came quickly and easily, but the voice carrying them was fading fast. Several times Juushiro saw Unohana furrow her brow and carefully look him over. She knew, of course she knew. This was what she was trained to spot. But hey, she wasn't stopping him, and that was a new one. Anyone else would have rushed to his side by now.

He wrapped up his speech, and sighed in relief. If he lost his voice completely, he couldn't finish the test, and this was the most important part. Kidou and, of course, bankai.

"Thank you, Juushiro. You may now perform your kidou now." Head Commander Yamamoto reminded him sternly. He had let his mind wander too long, and now Genryuusai-sensei was getting impatient, and Unohana-sempai surely knew that he was ill.

Juushiro placed his hands to perform hadou number 54. He didn't need to say incantation aloud, and this was no different. But as he held the kidou, he felt the energy being sapped from his body, and he began to repeat the incantation in his head, justs to have something to focus on. After what seemed like hours, Juushiro released the kidou, and closed his eyes, feeling shaky and sick from exertion.

"Very good, Juushiro. That was impressive work."

His eyes snapped open. That was impressive? He knew that his teacher wasn't one to give empty compliments, nor to expect less of him due to illness. Juushiro realized at this moment that Genryuusai-sensei had known from the start. This truly was a test. Either his illness didn't make a difference in his becoming a captain, or this was not only a test of skill, but also of endurance, and determination.

Face pale, but jaw set, he looked up. _Almost finished now... _he thought to himself. He felt he had just enough of a second wind to finish, and get home before collapsing, at best. There was just one shot to perform his bankai.

Juushiro slid his zanpakuto from it's sheath, leveling the blade in his hands, and taking a breath.

"All waves rise now and become my shield, lightning, strike now and become my blade, Sogyo no Kotowari!"

The sword split into its released form, one blade now two shining in the light from the windows. Head Commander Yamamoto nodded.

"Bankai!"

All Juushiro saw was a blur of color as the room spun dangerously, all he heard was the sound of his own blood falling from his mouth and coating the floor, and the coughs that expelled it. As he fell to his knees with the effort of keeping his zanpakuto released, Yamamoto calmly responded to the situation.

"Unohana, please tend to him after the test. I'd like to let him finish."

"Yes sir. I'll take him to my division for monitoring."

"Thank you."

But they wouldn't even need to wait that long. At that very moment, Juushiro collapsed entirely, his zanpakuto (now returned to a normal katana) clattering to the floor.

* * *

A day later, Juushiro awoke in the Fourth Division infirmary, still bleary from the exhaustion, and his continued state of illness. Something, however, was different. A new weight was draped over him, and a still warm cup of tea sat on the table next to the bed. As he opened his eyes, he noticed a note pinned to the haori (so that's what the weight was) that lay over him, and smiled softly. It was written in Genryuusai-sensei's hand, but scrawled patches led him to believe that it had been annotated by Shunsui. Taking the note into his hand, he read the part from his teacher first.

"Juushiro,

Unohana-san and I have decided to appoint to you the rank of captain. Despite your setbacks, you performed well, and handled the situation with tact and maturity. Well done. We only ask that you take more care with your health, and to refrain from spying on Shunsui's test (as he so obviously was doing with yours).

-Head Commander Genryuusai Shigenkune Yamamoto"

Underneath, Shunsui (who Juushiro now suspected had burst in when he passed out) had written his own note.

"Shiro, don't scare us like that again. If you're feeling that bad stay home for us, will you? And please, no matter what Yama-jii says, come to my test. I risked a lot to watch yours, and damn it if you won't do the same for me."

Juushiro grinned. So he had passed. Thin fingers traced the symbol on the back of the coat. 13. Ukitake-taichou of the Thirteenth Division. Shunsui would later tell him that despite everything, he passed with flying colors. He had managed to hold onto his Bankai for nearly three minutes, even while he was only barely conscious, and that had cinched it. He was a captain. Of course, what Shunsui wouldn't tell him, is that he wasn't sure Juushiro would live long enough to get his rank, and that because of that, Shunsui carried him to the Fourth Division himself, by holding off Unohana and Yamamoto with his own bankai, unofficially achieving captain himself. Not that it mattered. What he had done in his desperation for his friend negated that immediately.

At this moment though, alone in that sterile hospital room, all that mattered was the point he had made, in his own peaceful way. He was maybe more fragile that others, but he wouldn't fall apart. And that was what the rank of captain meant. Strength to protect all.


End file.
